


Knockout

by 0bviousLeigh



Series: Yuma is a Girl [37]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Body Horror, Gender or Sex Swap, Other, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 09:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13292130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: Yuma wants to cry. She wants to scream. She wants to launch herself at Alit and rake her nails down his face. She wants to run as far and as fast as she can, with Astral, some place no one will hurt him.





	Knockout

**Author's Note:**

> Lots going on in this part, we cover episodes 85-89.

On the day that Yuma is meant to return to school, Rei comes over for breakfast. He barely eats, but Yuma devours enough for both of them.

“I’m glad you feel better, but please don’t make yourself sick,” Akari says crossly.

“I’m permanently sick,” Yuma says through a mouth full of food. She puts her bowl in the sink and grabs her backpack. “Let’s go,” she says to Rei.

The two of them head out, bidding goodbye to grandma on their way. They walk down the street with their shoulders bumping together every few steps.

“Excited to be going back?” Rei asks Yuma.

Yuma nods. “Excited for things to hopefully return to normal.”

She jinxed herself when she said that, as shortly thereafter she and Rei are confronted by an army of students, from their own school, who hold out their duel disks and have weird symbols on their foreheads.

“Shit!” Yuma screams, halting in her tracks, “Barian world is messing with our school again!” She grabs Rei’s wrist and yanks him back the way they came. “Come on, let’s skedaddle!”

But they’re blocked at every turn by more brainwashed people wanting a duel. Yuma realizes that they’re being pushed to the shipping docks, and she can’t do much to protect herself, Rei or Astral. She grabs her hone and dials the one person she knows will be able to help her, and will pick up her phone.

“Rio!” Yuma screams as she answers the phone, “I’m in trouble, the shipping yard, hurry!”

She hangs up so she can save her breath for running. She keeps a tight hold on Rei’s hand—she can’t let the Barians get him or Astral.

When Yuma and Rei arrive at the docks, they’re not alone. The mass of students are waiting, and as they’re backed into a corner, Yuma hears a welcome shout.

“Get away from my girlfriend!” Ryoga screams, dropping down from a shipping container.

Rio and Kotori are right behind him, riding in on a bike Yuma has never seen before, with Rio peddling and steering, and Kotori standing precariously on the back of the bike, brandishing a frying pan in one hand and her taser in the other.

“Where’d the bike and frying pan come from?” Yuma asks them as she activates her duel disk.

“Borrowed it,” Rio says with a wink.

“Same,” Kotori says.

“Thieves,” Yuma playfully accuses.

Yuma fends off attacks from the surrounding duelists as best she can. Rio and Ryoga are a force to be reckoned with, but when Yuma turns to check on Rei, she finds him standing behind her, and he grabs her.

“All for the sake of Barian world,” he mutters.

“Well done, my servants,” says a deep voice. A man appears in front of Yuma, the man who approached her at school the one who was kicked out.

Yuma shrieks, “Creep alert, creep alert!”

“My name is not creep,” the man snaps, “It’s Gilag! And I’m going to crush you and Astral!”

Yuma struggles to free herself from Rei’s grasp. The duelists surrounding Yuma summon their monsters. If they all attack, there’s no way she and Astral will survive.

Before Yuma can gather her wits and scream for help, help arrives. Alit leaps in front of Yuma, and saves her from damage by playing a magic card.

“Alit?!” Yuma cries.

“Alit?!” Gilag shouts.

Alit activates another magic card, destroying all the opponent’s monsters, taking out their life points, and freeing the duelists from the Barian influence. Rei falls to the ground, as do all the others.

Gilag growls, “Have you forgotten that we need the Numbers to save Barian world?!”

“I know what we need!” Alit snaps. “And I’m going to take Yuma and Astral on head on, in a fair fight!”

Yuma shrieks. “BARIANS!” She cries, pointing at the pair. “ALIENS, THEY WALK AMONG US!”

“I know Yuma is a great duelist!” Alit says, pointing at Gilag, “That’s why I’m going to take her on in a fair fight. Because before I’m a Barian, I’m a warrior, and I will not taint my honor by taking part in an unfair fight. Now get out of here, and don’t come back until you learn what a fair fight is!”

Gilag winces, then vanishes in a shower of glitter.

Yuma skitters backwards, away from Alit, her heart racing. What will he turn into? What can he do? Alit turns to her, and she yelps, “Ryoga!”

Ryoga kneels by Yuma’s side. “You stay away from her,” he warns.

Alit stares Yuma down. “Yuma, will you duel me?”

“Fuck off!” Yuma screams, “You want the Numbers, and if you take them you’ll take Astral!” She starts to tear up and gasps, “Don’t you care? Astral is a living being…”

“So am I,” Alit says, “And without the Numbers I won’t be living anymore.”

“WHY?!” Yuma demands.

“Because you can’t trust anyone from Astral world!” Alit yells.

Yuma wants to cry. She wants to scream. She wants to launch herself at Alit and rake her nails down his face. She wants to run as far and as fast as she can, with Astral, some place no one will hurt him.

“Duel me,” Alit says again.

Yuma bites her lip and tears spill over her cheeks.

Suddenly, Kite lands between Alit and Yuma. “Do it, Yuma,” he says. He tosses her something, and she catches it. It’s a ring, with a button on top. “That’s a special ring,” Kite tells her. “Like my Photon Change, it’ll give you special powers. In this case, protection from the effects of a Barian sphere field. Not total protection, but you won’t be taken out the way you were last time.”

“But your Photon Change hurt you,” Yuma says.

Kite nods. “That’s the hitch. You have twenty minutes before the protection wears off. Press the button once you’re in the field.”

Yuma sniffles, and nods. “Okay,” she says shakily. “Okay I can…I can do this.” She gets to her feet. “Okay Alit, I’ll duel you.”

Alit activates the sphere cube, and Yuma puts the ring on and presses the button on it. Her body is coated in a white light, and when it fades, her skin tingles.

She’s scared out of her mind, but she tries to keep it cool. She tries to think of Alit as just another opponent, she’s even able to admire his skills at dueling. She wants to connect to Alit, on a human level, maybe stop him from doing whatever it is he’s trying to do.

Yuma is the first to take damage in the battle, but just as Kite promised, the pain isn’t nearly as bad as last time. Yuma is able to keep her head, and turn the tide. She increases Hope’s attack to 5000, destroys Alit’s monster, and sends him careening into the sphere field as he takes damage.

Alit laughs. “Yuma, you are truly a powerful duelist.”

Yuma laughs. “Thanks! You are too. Alit, I know you have skills and I know you’re talented.” So why, why is he doing this? What has made him so hell-bent on destroying an entire planet and anyone who gets in his way?

Alit shows his strength by summoning Numbers 105.

“Another over-100 Numbers,” Yuma mutters.

Alit attacks her, though his Number is weaker, and with the effects of his monster, he takes a chunk out of Yuma’s life points. She’s down to 500, and Astral is flickering in front of her eyes.

“This is bad,” Astral says.

“I know,” Yuma tells him. “I know, and I’m furious and scared but…” she looks across at Alit. She can’t hate him, not the way she hated Tron and Faker. “Alit,” she calls, “I’m going to show you something special. My true power, my full power, the power of love that I share with Astral, and I want you to tell me if it’s worth destroying.”

She looks to Astral. “Are you ready?” She asks him.

Astral grins. “I am always ready.”

Yuma focuses on the love she has for Astral, the passion she has for him. Red light envelops her, and blue light envelops Astral. They fly across the sphere field and collide together. Yuma feels like every cell in her body is electrified, but it doesn’t hurt. She’s warm and cold, she’s present but not. Her body is stretched across a vast boundary of space, and yet she feels unbearably small. When Yuma opens her eyes, she sees Alit’s shock.

“This is Zexal,” she informs Alit. She grins and laughs. “And now I have boy parts.”

Alit gasps. “Oh my god, Yuma, you look so cool!”

Maybe he missed the part about boy parts. Oh well, Yuma performs a Chaos-XYZ change and summons Hope Ray, further hyping Alit up. Yuma attacks Numbers 105, and since the monsters are evenly matched they’re both destroyed, but Yuma is able to activate a magic card and bring Hope Ray back to the field.

Alit laughs. “If you’ve gone this far, I suppose I should show you my true power as well.”

Yuma knows what that means. “CAN I PASS?!” She shrieks, but Alit doesn’t hear her or doesn’t care. Either way, he doesn’t turn into an alien like Yuma had thought he would, instead he revives Numbers 105 through the same card Yuma had.

“Oh, thank god,” Yuma sighs in relief. “That’s all it was.” She sets a card and ends her turn.

But no, Alit is so fired up, he just has to show her his true form. Yuma wishes she could look away, but she can’t. Alit’s body seems to be enveloped by lightning, he screams as his flesh rips apart, his nails elongate and sharpen, and his face is blocked by a solid ball of light. When the light fades, an alien stands before Yuma.

Yuma swallows bile. She can’t help but wonder if her transformation looks as painful as Alit’s did. She hoped his didn’t feel as painful as it looked.

“So this is what you are,” Yuma murmurs.

“Not what,” Alit corrects. “Who. I am as much a living being as Astral is.”

“But you want to kill him,” Yuma says.

“I want the Numbers,” Alit tells her. “If I have to kill Astral to get them, I’m sorry. But my world means everything to me. That’s why I won’t hold back.”

“Neither will I!” Yuma cries, “I’m not just defending Astral, I’m defending my world, too, which means I’ve got more reason to win than you do!”

“We’ll see about that,” Alit says, and he starts his turn. He performs a Chaos-XYZ summon as well, and attacks. Yuma keeps Hope Ray from being destroyed, but she takes damage and is down to 200 life points. Thank god, the ring still protects her while she’s in Zexal form with Astral.

“You’re an amazing duelist indeed!” Alit laughs. “Ah Yuma, show me more of your power. Come on now, hit me with your best shot.”

“Are you insane?!” Yuma cries. “What happens if you lose?! If I lose, Astral…Astral will be gone! What happens to you?!”

“I’m not thinking of it,” Alit says. “Yuma, give me a fight I can be proud of!”

In the back of her head, Astral whispers, “Respect his wishes. Do as he asks.”

So Yuma, tears in her eyes, manages to smile. “Sure, Alit,” she says.

So she attacks. She and Alit play hot potato with the damage, but eventually her attack lands. Alit’s life points drop to zero. The sphere field fades, and Yuma and Astral split apart. As the ground comes back under Yuma’s feet, she runs to Alit.

He’s human once more, and after a second’s hesitation, she scoops him into her arms. “You okay?” She asks.

Alit grins. “That was fun.”

Yuma laughs. “Then let’s do it again! Just without the fear of death. Be my friend, Alit!”

But he shakes his head, and looks at Astral. Astral holds out his hand to absorb the number, but he can’t.

A portal opens behind Alit. “Bye, Yuma,” he says, and he vanishes.

Yuma is left kneeling in the street, tears in her eyes. Ryoga kneels beside her and puts his hand on her shoulder. “You okay?” He asks.

Yuma stands up and rubs her eyes. “I can’t believe Kite gave me a ring before you did,” she says, laughing even as she wipes tears from her eyes..

Rio dashes over. “If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it!” She screams.

Yuma, Rio, and Kotori collapse in giggles. Yuma has to keep smiling right now, or she’ll fall to pieces like she did in the hospital. Ryoga and Kite get the girls to their feet and tell them to cool it, they need to get lost before the cops arrive. Only when they’re walking away does Yuma realize Rei is missing and ask what happened to him.

“When he snapped out of it, we told him to go to the hospital,” Kotori says. “His arm was bleeding.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Yuma says worriedly.

 

 

Rei does turn out to be okay, but Astral isn’t. The ring may have protected Yuma, but it didn’t help Astral. While at first he seemed okay, as the day went on he became progressively weaker. Finally he retreats to the key and doesn’t come out. Yuma knows he needs time to heal, but she’s worried.

She’s not the only one who’s worried—Rei is beside himself the following day. “I can’t believe I hurt you, Yuma-san,” he says tearfully. “I’m really sorry.”

Yuma puts her arms around his shoulders. “Don’t sweat it,” she says, “I’m just glad you’re safe. I’d hate to think of those Barians getting their hands on a cute little pup like you.”

 

 

So of course, that’s exactly what happens. Rei and Yuma are walking home, taking a “short cut,” which is just an excuse to explore an abandoned construction project, when Gilag drops in.

“You!” Yuma screams, throwing herself in front of Rei. “Get lost!”

“Not likely,” Gilag fires back. “I’m going to crush you, and that runt.”

Yuma looks behind her—just Rei. “Who?” She asks.

“Him!” Gilag screams, pointing at Rei. “He ambushed Alit!”

Yuma’s jaw drops. “What?! No way, Rei would never!” She grabs one of Rei’s noodle arms and shakes it. “Look at this! You think he could take Alit on?”

“I know what Alit told me,” Gilag insists, “And he told me he was ambushed by Shingetsu Rei.” He pulls a cube from his pocket, and Yuma panics.

“REI, RUN!” She screams, but it’s too late. The sphere field surrounds all three of them, and Yuma activates her ring as quick as she can. “Hold on to me if you get hit with any damage,” she instructs Rei, “I’ll use my own body to keep you from getting hurt.”

“Yuma, I’m sorry!” Rei wails.

Yuma shushes him. Astral can’t help her now, and she’s facing an alien and trying to protect Rei. She can’t panic, she’s got to keep her head.

“This is a Battle Royal,” Gilag says. “The first turn is mine.”

They go around, and by Gilag’s second turn he’s already got a huge lead, dropping Rei’s life points to 2000. Yuma wraps her arms around Rei and holds him in front of her. her back collides with the sphere field, but the pain isn’t so bad, and Rei is spared the worst of it as well. But a facedown card Rei laid causes all players to lose 600 life points, which Gilag blocks. So Rei takes more damage, Yuma’s life points drop, and Gilag’s remain whole.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Rei whimpers as he and Yuma feel the effects of the sphere field yet again.

Yuma pats Rei’s head. “No, it’s okay,” she says. “We can do this.”

Gilag laughs. “Is that so?” He asks. “Let me show you how wrong you are.”

His skin splits apart, and he roars loud enough for the sound to echo outside of the field. Yuma shuts her eyes, waiting until the echo fades before she opens them. Gilag has changed into an alien, huge and with a face like a European knight’s helmet.

Yuma battles through her fear. In the time it takes Rei to make his move, Yuma manages to keep herself from puking. Then she takes her turn, and only ends up hurting her own life points when Gilag avoids having his monster destroyed, takes out Hope, and sends Hope’s attack points as damage Yuma’s way. She’s down to 900 life points.

The pressure mounts as Gilag activates his "Erosion Hand Forest" field spell, which will inflict 1000 damage to all players during his Standby Phase.

Rei does his best to help, only for Yuma to protect him by taking damage. Her life points drop by half, and she can feel the key heat up against her chest. Astral is suffering.

“For my will is as strong as yours,” She whispers, holding the key in her hand even though it burns her palm.

She draws a card, and Gilag activates one of his own—for every card in Yuma’s hand, she’ll lose 300 life points. But Rei saves her—he banishes his own monsters and all the cards in Yuma’s hand. He spares her the loss of life points, and in exchange for the cards he banished, he can bring an Xyz monster to the field from Yuma’s graveyard. Hope is revived, and for Rei’s final trick, he’s able to give Yuma a card from his hand. He tosses the card to Yuma and she catches it. She reads the title—Rank Up Barian’s Force.

Yuma sways and her head spins. Barian’s Force…a card a Barian uses…the only way Rei could have something like this is if…but it’s impossible, isn’t it?

She looks at Rei. “How?” She asks.

“Trust me,” he says, none of his former fear or innocence in his face, replaced now with steely-seriousness. “It’s the only way to save Astral.”

Yuma bites her lip. As loathe as she is to use this card, it’s true that this is the only way, and she loves Astral more than she fears Barians.

“KATTOBINGU!” Yuma screams. She uses the card and ranks up Hope, which emerges as Hope Ray V. The monster is beautiful and terrifying, just like a Barian. Yuma swallows a lump in her throat. She can only think of Astral. She destroys Gilag’s Numbers 106, and then attacks him directly. His life points drop to zero.

As the Field Spell fades, Gilag lifts his head to stare at Rei. “What the hell are you?” He demands.

“You’ll find out eventually,” Rei says coldly.

A portal opens behind Gilag, and he vanishes. The sphere field fades, and Yuma and Rei float gently to the ground. Yuma looks around to make sure they’re alone—for once, no one has turned up unexpectedly. Kite’s Barian meter must be malfunctioning. She turns to Rei.

“Are you one of them?” She asks him. “Are you a Barian?”

Rei nods. “But—”

Yuma slaps him across the face. “WHY WOULD YOU KEEP THAT FROM ME?!” She shrieks. “You’re supposed to be my friend!”

“Because it’s my job!” Rei shouts, holding his cheek. “I’m leading the revolution!”

Yuma freezes. “Revolution?”

Rei sits on the ground. “I’m a Barian, but I don’t want to destroy anything, except maybe the regime,” he says. “Gilag, Alit, Mizael, Vector, and one more named Durbe, they’re the Emperors of Barian world, and they’re the ones who want the destruction of Astral world and anything that gets in their way. I want to take the rulers down and change how the planet is governed.”

Yuma kneels beside Rei. “So why are you here?”

“Because they’re here,” Rei says. “They had eyes on you, I followed them. I confess, I wasn’t a fan of yours following the WDC, I knew the Barian Emperors would come for you. So I made myself someone I thought you would want to be friends with. I am sorry that I lied to you, but it was for my home planet. If I can take down the Emperors then maybe things can be better for my people.” Rei gives Yuma a hard look. “We may not look like you, but we have dreams and families just like you do. And this was bigger than me, or your feelings.”

Yuma closes her eyes and presses her fingers to her head. “Okay, okay,” she breathes. “So…what now?”

“I fight alongside you to keep Astral safe,” Rei says, “If you’ll allow me, and if you agree to keep my identity secret from everyone; Including Astral.”

Yuma doesn’t bother to hide her shock. “You know Astral and I are soulmates, don’t you?”

But Rei keeps his serious attitude. “Yuma, the more people who know about me, the more danger I’m in. You’ve seen and felt the power of the Emperors, you have technology, Numbers, and love to protect you. I have nothing, I can’t have anything that would tip the Emperors off. I’ve already jeopardized myself by giving you Rank-up Barian’s Force. Gilag will be out of it for a while, so I have to move quickly.”

Yuma purses her lips. “Okay. I don’t like it, but I’ll keep it a secret. And I’ll be happy to help you with your mission if you help me with mine.”

Rei smiles and says, “And while we’re working my case, I need you to do everything I say. You’re my subordinate, got that?”

Yuma snorts. “I’m nobody’s subordinate and you’ve got to deal with that. Don’t you know by now that I used to be in a duel gang?”

Rei looks uneasy for the first time. “Er, right. We’ll talk more about that later.”

Yuma knows defeat when she hears it.

 

 

Once Yuma gets home, she goes up to her room and taps on the Key. “Astral, if you can hear me, I really need to talk to you,” she whispers.

She’s not really expecting him to come out, he’s injured after all, but he pops up at once.

“Oh, hey,” Yuma says, as Astral looks around the room, “I have to tell you something, I fought a Barian with Rei.”

“Me first,” Astral says. His face is drawn and he looks very tired for someone who should have been resting. “I set Numbers 96 free.”

Yuma’s jaw drops. “You did what now?! That crazy Number? I thought we were done with it!”

“So did I, but I was wrong,” Astral says. “And at the same time, I figured out what the Barians are after. It’s called the Numeron Code.”

 

 

Astral shut his eyes against the pounding headache that lingered over his right eye. Why did it just hurt on that one side? Was this what Yuma called a migraine? It was most unpleasant. The Numbers cards spun lazily around him, waiting for him to call on them, but suddenly they started to glow brighter, not helping his headache at all. Astral straightened up and opened his eyes, and to his shock 96 appeared before him.

“How are you here?” Astral snapped. “You should have been sealed away.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” 96 responded.

“You have no power over me,” Astral fired back.

96 laughed. “Maybe not, but I have power of my own that certainly matches yours. Do you think movie quotes will be enough to defeat the Barians? You need me.”

“Like hell I do,” Astral said.

“There can be no light without the dark,” 96 said cryptically. “You and I are two sides of the same coin.” He floated upside down and grinned at Astral. “Besides, I know something you don’t. About the Numbers, and what your true goal is. You should try listening to me, or the other Numbers at least. We’re dying for you to hear.”

 

 

“So I tried listening to the Numbers, only to end up dueling a monstrous spirit. Unable to defeat the creature on my own, I agreed to release 96 if he would help me beat the creature and unlock my true memories.”

Yuma nods slowly, her head spinning. “And what did you learn?”

“That I’m here to retrieve to Numeron Code before the Barians find it.”

“And what is the Numeron Code?”

“It’s something like a memory chip,” Astral explains, “But on a much larger scale. It contains the secrets of the universe, how the world was created, and what the future holds. That being said, if one can get it, they can figure out how to alter the world, the future, even the past. They can change things so that entire events never happened, or entire worlds never existed. It’s also why my memories were split into pieces—I know where the code is, but I’ll only remember once all the Numbers are mine, this was to hopefully prevent the code’s location from falling into the wrong hands. The Numbers that we have yet to find are key to locating the Numeron code.”

“What happens if we don’t find it before the Barians?” Yuma asks.

Astral gives her a serious look. “Then Barian world will erase Astral world from existence.”

Yuma shivers. “So that’s why we need to get it first,” she mutters.

Astral nods. “And what did you want to tell me?”

“Oh,” Yuma says, “Rei is a Barian and he wanted me to keep it from you, which means that I don’t totally trust him.”

Astral gapes. “What?!”

Yuma shows him Rank-up Barian’s Field. “He gave me this and said he was a Barian evolutionary who wants to overthrow the regime because not all Barians are evil.” She tells Astral about the duel against Gilag, and more of what Rei told her.

“Do you believe him?” Astral asks.

Yuma bites her lip. “I don’t think he’s evil, but he wanted me to keep his identity hidden from you, which I would think excludes him from being totally innocent. But until we know his intentions, I think it’s good to keep him on our side. I won’t tell him about the Numeron Code, not unless he brings it up to me. No need to go tipping our hand. Oh, and don’t let on that you know I told you his secret.”

“This is complicated,” Astral says.

“This is espionage,” Yuma corrects, “And I love it!”

Astral sighs then sits beside Yuma. “What about what 96 said? About needing it? Needing darkness?”

Yuma shakes her head. “What does he know? The Barians have been a piece of cake so far. We got this Astral, I promise.”


End file.
